Research & Commentary Results

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Greg Myre and Jennifer Griffin for a discussion about the ongoing challenges in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on their knowledge and experiences recounted in their new book, This Burning Land: Lessons from the Front Lines of the Transformed Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Myre and Griffin, journalists who are husband and wife, traveled to Jerusalem in 1999 in hopes of finally seeing Middle East peace. Instead, the pair watched as violence in the area escalated and the peace process disintegrated.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Greg Myre and Jennifer Griffin for a discussion about the ongoing challenges in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on their knowledge and experiences recounted in their new book, This Burning Land: Lessons from the Front Lines of the Transformed Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Myre and Griffin, journalists who are husband and wife, traveled to Jerusalem in 1999 in hopes of finally seeing Middle East peace. Instead, the pair watched as violence in the area escalated and the peace process disintegrated.

The Obama administration's efforts to win a settlement freeze as a confidence-building measure have failed, and the U.S.has not presented a new vision for resuming the moribund peace process. Nevertheless, many analysts now recommend shifting the diplomatic focus to negotiations to define the border between Israel and the future state of Palestine. Resolving the border would address the issues of settlements and Jerusalem as well as potential land swaps between the two states.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host the Honorable Robert Wexler and Dr. Yoram Peri for a discussion about the challenges facing Israel and the Middle East peace process in the wake of the resignation of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Some in Israel, including former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, argue that current events in the region make it imperative that Israel move quickly to secure a peace treaty with the Palestinians. Others insist Israel proceed with caution, given the increased instability in the region.

Israeli politics is notable for its wide array of parties and unstable coalition governments. The main institutional cause of this chronic instability is the system of nationwide proportional representation, which gives disproportionate influence to minor parties. This instability limits the ability of Israeli governments to pursue coherent long-term strategies and leads to policies that address the concerns of minority groups at the expense of the national interest.

Once upon a time in the land where the light of creation first shone, the fertile grounds around Baghdad nurtured the House of Wisdom.[1] Even as Europeans were looking for the light at the end of the Dark Ages, Caliph Haroon al-Rasheed and his son Caliph al-Mamoon had made Baghdad a center of learning. In Baghdad, scholars put words on “real” paper. They preserved Aristotle, Plato, Hippocrates, Euclid, Ptolemy, Pythagoras, and Brahmagupta and translated Greek, Persian, and Indian manuscripts.

Educational reform in Israel has repeatedly shifted from expecting individual excellence to expecting access for all. Excellence and access reflects the early history of the country when Jewish funders from France, England, and Germany established educational systems for Jewish children. The Zionist organizations that structured much of the curriculum and the external funding streams insured the Jewish schools were far better funded than the British-supported schools during the Mandate.

External Partnerships

Women’s education in the Arab world has increased substantially in the last several decades, both in absolute terms and relative to men. However, when looking at the Arab world, understanding that there are vast differences culturally, politically, and socially among the countries is essential. This essay looks at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, where women share a similar cultural and socio-economic context.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Ambassador Robert E. Hunter, Senior Adviser at the RAND Corporation, to present a new study that lays out the criteria and parameters for a new security structure for the Persian Gulf region. His recent study, Building Security in the Persian Gulf, makes recommendations for a new security structure for the region in order to promote long-term stability while also reducing

This is the first of three volumes examining the internationalization of higher education and the Middle East. The 12 essays included in this volume explore some of the changes that are taking place and the challenges that lie ahead as Middle Eastern countries seek to build sustainable higher education systems and strengthen their economies. Within the dynamic global higher education landscape, is the Middle East a stagnant backwater or a center of creative initiative? What are, and should be the roles of foreign partners and providers?

This Commentary first appeared as an op-ed in McClatchy News, July 6, 2010.

The misuse and abuse of language is yet another obstacle to obtaining peace in the Middle East. In recent weeks the media, government officials and commentators have so garbled the use of the words “blockade” and “embargo” to describe events in Gaza that understanding what is occurring, the legal implications, and developing a reasonable policy are almost impossible.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Justin Dargin, research fellow at the Dubai Initiative, for a discussion of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the Gulf and the pursuit of an effective carbon trading plan. Dargin will also examine the effect which this hot-button issue has upon the region's geopolitical relations, energy efficiency, natural gas utilization, renewable energy, and conservation of natural resources.

The last five years of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be summed up in one word: Gaza.

Israel’s lethal raid on the flotilla attempting to deliver aid to Gaza is part of a recurring theme that goes like this: Gaza wallows in dysfunction. Tensions steadily build. A confrontation erupts. Every major crisis between the Israelis and the Palestinians in recent years has revolved around Gaza—the overcrowded, impoverished strip of sand squeezed between Israel and the Mediterranean.

The Middle East Institute, the Foundation for Middle East Peace, Churches for Middle East Peace, and Americans for Peace Now invite you to a presentation and discussion featuring Rabbi Arik Ascherman, Executive Director, Rabbis for Human Rights-Israel. RHR-Israel works to prevent human rights violations in Israel and the Occupied Territories, and to bring human rights grievances to the attention of the Israeli public through education and advocacy.

Asserting its need to be secure from future terrorism launched from Gaza, Israel used force last week to maintain a blockade that has been creating a humanitarian cataclysm for the people of Gaza. In the early days following the attack on the aid flotilla, the Israeli military interpretation of events dominated much of the popular media coverage in the United States. Gradually, though, attention shifted to the incident’s negative impact on Israel’s international standing and the security implications of continued international and regional uproar.